Hangzhou ,China, October 3 : The Bharatiya women’s hockey team stormed into the semi-finals after defeating Hong Kong by 13-0 in the last league match at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Tuesday.
Bharat finished their league matches unbeaten with three wins and one draw, collecting 10 points. They are at the top of the table in their Pool A.
Vandana Katariya (2’, 16’, 48’), Deepika (4’, 52’, 54’), Monika (7’), Deep Grace Ekka (11’, 34’, 42’), Sangita Kumari (27’, 55’) and Navneet Kaur (58) scored in Bharat’s victory against Hong Kong.
Bharat will face the runner-ups of the Pool B in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Earlier, the Bharatiya women’s hockey team played out a 1-1 stalemate against South Korea in a Pool A encounter at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium on Sunday.
Navneet Kaur in the 44th minute scored the equaliser for India after Cho Hyejin had put South Korea ahead.
South Korea and Bharatiya started the match on an attacking note. Cho Hyejin’s goal-bound attempt for the Koreans was the first opportunity of the game, but Deep Grace Ekka stopped it in the waning moments to prevent India from falling behind.
Bharat had plenty of chances to tie the game up as well, but their forwards lacked dexterity in front of goal. South Korea was in the lead 1-0 at the end of the first period.
Both South Korea and Bharat made a valiant effort to score the game-winning goal in the last frame, but neither team was successful. There was a 1-1 draw in the game.
But South Korea eventually reached their objective. After being stick-checked by Udita within the circle, Cho Hyejin scored on the penalty shot.
